Kicking butts for Earth Day 2013 in DoverDOVER — On Friday, while at Dover Elementary for an assembly, Pope County Judge Jim Ed Gibson proclaimed Monday as Kick Butts Day in Pope County in an effort to include cigarette litter and pollution control as part of this year’s Earth Day initiative in the Arkansas River Valley. Gibson read the proclamation after Dover third-graders presented a 20-minute presentation about the dangers and of second-hand smoke and cigarette butt litter during...

Parks could become smoke free in DoverTo smoke or not to smoke in Dover City Park? That is the question of the moment that Dover Elementary School third-graders hoped they answered during a 20-minute presentation on Friday regarding the smoke-free parks initiative. The students became part of a local, state and national campaign promoting smoke-free areas — particularly areas where children are present — when they joined the letter-writing campaign to their community leaders in la...

Pottsville High School’s ‘Prom Scare’ deters accidentsPOTTSVILLE — The scene was gruesome, a brown truck wrecked head-on with a white car. A body lay on the ground in front of the vehicle covered in blood. The driver of the brown truck, who was driving drunk, sat dazed in his seat, and occupants of either vehicle lay trapped in the vehicles as police, ambulances and fire trucks rushed to the accident. The scene might’ve been real, had it not taken place on the asphalt behind the high school in fr...

Prom nightmareHector High School held their annual "Prom Nightmare" event Friday morning with this year being a funeral scenario for one of their fellow classmates, Lauryn Danielle Tereza, who died in a car crash from a drunk driver. The event, put on by Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) and co-sponsored by Jerri Tabor and Beth Lake, went through the events beginning with the crash, the funeral and then hearing from students who now have to grad...

Greeks feed elementary studentsSome of them were gathered around tables or sat on the floor, filling bags and cardboard boxes with food. Others were carrying armload after armload of food from their cars into Tucker Coliseum. Still more were organizing the 22,000 donated food items so that they could be delivered to the correct elementary school. Regardless of which Greek organization they are from, students from Arkansas Tech University fraternities and sororities had a co...

ATU to recognize Century Forward CircleArkansas Tech University will host a public recognition of its Century Forward Circle donors and unveil an addition to Centennial Plaza in their honor during an on-campus event on Saturday. The ceremony will take place at 2 p.m. Saturday on Centennial Plaza, which is located just west of Thone Stadium at Buerkle Field. The public is invited to attend. Centennial Plaza is the location of a new set of benches and pavers that were created as a pe...

Innovative technologies increase for local schoolsThe Common Core State Standards introduced last year placed an emphasis on technology in curriculums for public schools across the country. Dardanelle elementary and middle schools have found more than just an instructional opportunity with technology— they’ve found a way to increase both collaborative efforts between students and the efficiency of research done both at school and at home. “We try to take the new Common Core State Standards, a...

Career fair to be held SaturdayThe Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) will conduct a career fair on Saturday in Little Rock. The 2013 Educators Career Fair will be at the Metroplex/Team Summit Event Center at 10800 Colonel Glenn Rd. between 9 a.m. and noon for people looking at teaching as a career. Fair registration is free and online at www.TeachArkansas.org. People who plan to attend the fair are encouraged to complete the online registration form, but those who can’...

"Taming of the Shrew" opens tonight at Arkansas TechTravis Clark (left) portrays "Tranio" and Ryan Heumier (right) portrays "Lucentio" during a recent dress rehearsal for a student production of "Taming of the Shrew" at Arkansas Tech University. Arkansas Tech will present four performances of “Taming of the Shrew” this week. The production will open at the Doc Bryan Student Services Building Lecture Hall tonight at 8 p.m.. Additional performances will take place April 19-21. The performances on...

To save endangered languages, tribes turn to tech LAS VEGAS (AP) — In a windowless conference room in a Las Vegas casino, about three dozen people are swishing their fingers across iPads, trying out test versions of new apps and screening for glitches. But these are no Silicon Valley techies in town for one of the city’s massive electronics shows. Many are from far-flung American Indian reservations, and their high-tech devices are serving a decidedly old-school purpose: trying to save their ...

Arkansas Tech senior graphic design exhibit opens SaturdayThe work of eighteen Arkansas Tech University students will be featured in “Command + Design,” the 2013 senior graphic design exhibit hosted by the Arkansas Tech University Department of Art. There will be an opening reception for the exhibit from 6:30-8 p.m. on Saturday, April 20, at the Norman Hall Art Gallery on the Arkansas Tech campus in Russellville. Norman Hall is located at 203 West Q Street. The exhibit will feature the works of Arkan...

Cara Knight receives Jim Ed McGee Award at Arkansas TechCara Knight is the recipient of the 2013 Jim Ed McGee Award as the most outstanding graduate student at Arkansas Tech University. A native of Russellville and resident of Danville, Knight was presented with her award during the Arkansas Tech Graduate Council meeting at Tomlinson Hall on Tuesday. Knight earned a Master of Science degree in college student personnel from Arkansas Tech in May 2012. She is now employed as coordinator of student ce...

Arkansas Tech to present 'Taming of the Shrew'Arkansas Tech will present four performances of “Taming of the Shrew” this week. The production will open at the Doc Bryan Student Services Building Lecture Hall on Thursday. Additional performances will take place Friday through Sunday. The performances on Thursday, Friday and Saturday will begin at 8 p.m, while Sunday’s performance will take place at 2 p.m. Tickets will be available at the door. The cost to purchase tickets is $8 for the gen...

Ussery hired as new principal at Carlisle High SchoolAfter his abrupt resignation as Russellville High School principal just over a month ago, Sammy Ussery has been hired as the principal of Carlisle High School. The Carlisle School Board approved Ussery’s hiring during its April 8 meeting, and his employment with Carlisle will take effect on July 1, when his current contract with the Russellville School District comes to an end. Ussery served as the RHS principal since last August before resign...

Making a difference: 5 Hector School employees who have a positive impactEditor’s note: This is part of an ongoing series of stories that focuses on people who are making a difference in education in the Arkansas River Valley. HECTOR — With only 350 students between the seventh and 12th grades, it might be tempting to overlook the Hector School District. But one would be remiss to do so. Just like any school district, its halls are filled with stories of triumph and defeat, joy and sorrow. Mostly, these halls are f...

Local students participated in the Arkansas State Jr. Beta ConventionThe Arkansas State Jr. Beta Convention was held recently at Arkansas Tech University with over 600 Jr. Betas from around the state in attendance. Pottsville was represented with yet another state officer, AJ Van Es, who served as the State Chaplain for the last year. Van Es, a 9th grade student at Pottsville Junior High School, led each general session with an inspiration that was both uplifting and humorous. Pottsville Jr. Betas were also...

Lawyer: Girl’s assault was shared in photos, texts SARATOGA, Calif. (AP) — The parents of a 15-year-old California girl who took her own life after she was sexually abused and an explicit photo of the assault circulated among her classmates want the three boys who have been arrested in the case prosecuted as adults, a lawyer for the family says. Authorities arrested the three 16-year-olds on suspicion of sexual battery against Audrie Pott, a Saratoga High School sophomore who hanged herself in...

Hawaii land board approves Thirty Meter Telescope HONOLULU (AP) — A plan by California and Canadian universities to build the world’s largest telescope at the summit of Hawaii’s Mauna Kea volcano won approval from the state Board of Land and Natural Resources on Friday. The decision clears the way for the group managing the Thirty Meter Telescope project to negotiate a sublease for land with the University of Hawaii. The telescope would be able to observe planets that orbit stars other than t...

Science programs at Arkansas Tech gain valuable new resourceStudents and faculty in the Arkansas Tech University College of Natural and Health Sciences have a new tool that will allow them to better understand the waterways of the Natural State. The Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) has donated the majority of its aquatic invertebrate working collection to the Arkansas Tech Department of Biological Sciences. The donation of material, which was made possible by Arkansas Tech alumnus an...

Career fair demonstrates increased opportunities for Tech studentsIt can be nerve-wracking for a college student to walk up to recruiters from some of the world’s largest companies and ask about career opportunities. That’s where Dana Florian, director of the Norman Career Services office at Arkansas Tech University, comes in with some advice. “It’s a formal setting, but an informal conversation,” said Florian. “The ball is in the court of the students. They can go up to any recruiter they like. They might h...